Review – Chick Brewing Company Chick Beer

**We are in the process of conducting an interview with Chick Brewing Company and it should be posted Friday or Monday.

Today Chris and I are reviewing Chick Brewing Company’s Chick Beer. We first found out about Chick Beer while doing a ghost tour in Ellicott City, MD. We were intrigued by a beer marketed directly towards women, so we sought out a place to buy the beer. We picked up our six pack for $9.80 with tax.

Based out of Easton, MD, Chick Brewing is a new comer to the craft beer scene. The beer is brewed by Minhas Craft Brewery in Monroe, WI. It has just 97 calories, 3.5 carbs, and 4.2% ABV. From their website:

One day, we were in our local store looking for an interesting beer to take home, and thought “Isn’t it strange that out of hundreds of beers, none are designed to appeal directly to women? In fact, most are clearly marketed to men.”

We went home and did some research, and found that women drink 25% of all the beer consumed in the U.S. That’s over 700 MILLION cases every year!”

The idea to create a brand of beer specifically for women kept stirring in us. We thought about it night and day, and decided that we were going to give women a female-centric choice that reflected their tastes.

I knew I needed it not to be a gimmick. The beer had to be good. I looked at who was drinking most of the beer and the target market is really 21- to 35-year-old women. The ones who were out at night partying and getting together with friends. What they were drinking was American light lagers. We looked for brewers and tasted lots of beer and went with Minhas in Wisconsin. The beer they brew for us has 97 calories and 3.5 carbs but also a very mellow beer flavor. It has a very rounded, full flavor. People say, “I can’t believe this is a light beer.” So then all those things started going together and we got it brewed in June and launched in Maryland.

In reference to the packaging she had the following to say:

I knew I wanted to make it stand out. There was no sense of going halfway. I wanted to use pink and black and do something extremely iconic [by depicting it using an image of] a purse and a little black dress. I wanted it to be fun and sexy and I wanted people to have a good time with it. Beer’s about fun. And because I think globally, I knew right away that I wanted to be able donate some money from the sales to charities that empower women.

Lastly, on gender specific alcohol products:

I have daughters who are so powerful and so unconcerned that a labeling has anything to do with who they are or represent. That’s one reason why I used the word “chick.” That’s actually what men used to call subpar or light beer. I happen to think all things chick are terrific. I came up with a slogan that was a little in your face. It was empowering to turn it on its head. I’m not trying to be serious about it.

Appearance

Scott: Light, clear, golden color.

Chris: Pours smooth with a golden color. There was a little head which dissipated quickly. Small bubbles continued to float to the top.

Aroma

Scott: Fruity with a slight hint of apple and/or pear.

Chris: Clean and fruity.

Mouthfeel

Scott: A slight ting of bubbles that quickly dissipates. Very much the consistency of drinking carbonated water.

Chris: No curveball here, it feels as it looked, very smooth and light.

Flavor

Scott: No question this is a light beer. It has a slight taste towards metallic that is mostly on the sides of the tongue.

Chris: Light with hints of sweetness and salt.

Aftertaste

Scott: The metallic taste tends to stay around for a few minutes, but it’s nothing overpowering.

Chris: Not much going on here after two minutes. A few minutes later a soft metallic tone appeared.

Final Thoughts

Scott: This is a great beer to drink as a replacement to Bud Light, Miller Lite, or Coors Light. The flavor (or lack thereof from the big 3) is comparable, and I doubt many would be able to tell the difference.

Additional note, I’m now on my third (and last) beer, and I’m just now noticing the hint of a buzz. We have been at this for just over an hour and these beers unquestionably go down easy. If you drink Bud Light, Miller Lite, or Coors Light I would recommend the switch to this beer (if you can find it). It’s better, and supports an independent brewery.

Chris: The carbonation was abundant and the taste was smooth and crisp. This is exactly what I expected from a 97 calorie, 3.5 carb, Light American Lager. It’s easy to drink and no real buzz factor after two of them.

Nothing screams “sexist” and “insulting” like assuming that girls want a pink beer that says ‘Chick’ on it. Oh, and it is a light lager too because all girls are concerned about their weight.

This is a gimmicky entry into the BudMillerCoors market, and hardly qualifies as craft as evident by the likely adjuncts used.

There are plenty of women who drink craft beer, write about craft beer, and brew craft beer. It’s clear this beer was created by someone more concerned with business and appearances as evident by this: “Isn’t it strange that out of hundreds of beers, none are designed to appeal directly to women? In fact, most are clearly marketed to men.”

A real craft beer drinker – male or female – would be less concerned about the appeal, and more concerned that so many BudMillerCoors lagers line store walls. It’s what is inside the bottle that matters, not the labeling, appeal, or advertising. Hence, this beer totally misses the mark.

So then it comes down to price. 9.80? For a Lite American Lager? Yeah, I don’t think so.